Sugar in fruit juices may increases risk of cancer: Study

If you consume fruit juices on regular interval it may pose risk to your health. As per a recent study, higher intake of sugary drinks may make you vulnerable to cancer.

The findings of the study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said that limiting sugary drink consumption, together with taxation and marketing restrictions, might contribute to a reduction in cancer cases.

The consumption of sugary drinks has increased worldwide during the last few decades and is convincingly associated with the risk of obesity, which in turn is recognised as a strong risk factor for many cancers, said researchers, including those from the University of Paris 13 in France.

The conclusion was made after researchers assessed the associations between the consumption of sugary drinks (sugar-sweetened beverages and 100 per cent fruit juices), artificially sweetened (diet) beverages, and risk of overall cancer, as well as breast, prostate, and bowel (colorectal) cancers.

The findings are based on 101,257 healthy French adults (21 per cent men; 79 per cent women) with an average age of 42 years.

During follow-up, 2,193 first cases of cancer were diagnosed and validated (693 breast cancers, 291 prostate cancers, and 166 colorectal cancers). The average age at cancer diagnosis was 59 years.

The results show that a 100 millilitre per day increase in the consumption of sugary drinks was associated with an 18 per cent increased risk of overall cancer and a 22 per cent increased risk of breast cancer.

When the group of sugary drinks was split into fruit juices and other sugary drinks, the consumption of both beverage types was associated with a higher risk of overall cancer.